Euroleague Tips: Barcelona to win?

In the second instalment of my Euroleague tips, I’m taking a look at Friday’s huge matches. The first one will be between Darussafaka and Barcelona, which carries lots of significance for both. The winner of this game will have a chance to keep their playoffs dream alive, while the losing side, especially if it is Barcelona, will probably have next to no chance to make the quarterfinals.

The second match of the day that I believe will give us something to be excited about is the one in Spain where Baskonia will be hoping for another surprise following their win against Fenerbache in Istanbul last week. This week their task will be even more difficult as the visiting side is none other but CSKA.

Zalgiris will be presented with a great opportunity to remain in the playoffs race if they can defeat Unics in Kazan and I definitely suggest you look at my Euroleague tips of a 1.97 bet on the visiting side to win. Olympiacos, on the other hand, should have little trouble against Galatasaray on home turf. That said, let us delve into some deeper analysis of the two remaining matches for my Euroleague tips.

Darussafaka Dogus vs Barcelona Lassa Euroleague Tips and Analysis

Darussafaka is currently in a much better position ahead of the direct clash against potential playoffs rivals Barcelona. Both teams are battling it out for a place in the top eight, but the Turkish side is only one win behind Efes in 8th despite their defeat against Olympiacos last week. Barcelona won two games in last three rounds but is still sitting on very weak 10:15 and can only make the playoffs in theory.

Should the Catalonians lose this match, playoffs would surely be out of their reach, which is why we can expect them to give it their best. Blaugrana did win the last clash between the two with 81:77 thanks to their Croatian center Ante Tomic who scored 100% of his two point shots for 16 points total. Still, a lot has changed since that duel as Darussafaka has improved significantly under the hoops as Tomic’s Croatian colleague, Anto Zizic, grew into a true team leader for the Turks. On the other hand, two players who started in the fifth round duel, Juan Carlos Navarro and Justin Doellman have been out of commission for Blaugrana for a while, which is likely one of the main reasons that the Catalonian side has been performing so poorly.

Darussafaka just won in a very tense duel against their home town rivals Besiktas in the Turkish League with 71:68, while Barcelona has lost yet another El Classico by a single point. The Turkish side was impressive in the Volkswagen Arena so far this season and we believe they have what it takes to take down the Catalonians at this time. The bookies are offering 1.55 on home win and while we would love to see slightly higher odds, this is still likely to be a profitable bet in the long run.

Baskonia vs CSKA Moscow Euroleague tips and analysis

The Russian side have been playing another fantastic season. Last season’s winners have managed 19 wins in 25 matches so far and are sharing the top spot with Real Madrid. The Moscow side has a chance to make their lead even greater and guarantee a place in the top four and home turf advantage in the playoffs if they can beat Baskonia at the Fernando Buesa Arena. However, this will not be an easy task as Baskonia is on fire and they have managed to string together two wins against Milan and Fenerbache.

The hosts did lose their last match in domestic league to Manresa, conceding 87 points, which is certainly not good news ahead of the match against such a powerful attacking side. Baskonia coach Sito Alonso could already familiarise himself with the strength of CSKA’s attack in round nine, when the Russians demolished Baskonia with 112:84 in Moscow. Playmaker Milos Teodosic was brilliant in that one, scoring an astounding 34 points and giving 10 assists which is one of his best performances this season. James Augustine also managed a double double in that one.

Overall speaking, we can expect a very attractive and high scoring game. CSKA features the league’s strongest offense with 87.6 points per match, while Baskonia may be the strongest side of the league by sheer athleticism, with names such as Barganini, Budinger, Diop, Tillie, Hange, Larkin and others.

Still, CSKA is a much more experienced and potent squad and they are playing with no pressure at all. We expect them to dominate up front with Teodosic and De Coloo. Our main bet is away win at 1.58 but the over 165.5 points at 1.90 is another one that you could look into and likely make a profit with.

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